KSC-2014-3124

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – A post-launch news conference is held at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California following the successful launch of NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, or OCO-2. From left are Ralph Basilio, OCO-2 project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mike Miller, senior vice president, Science and Environmental Satellite Programs, Orbital Sciences Space Systems Group and Geoff Yoder, deputy associate administrator for Programs, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters. Liftoff of OCO-2 from Space Launch Complex 2 aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket was on schedule at 5:56 a.m. EDT on July 2 following the repair of the pad's water suppression system, which failed on the first launch attempt July 1. OCO-2 is NASA’s first mission dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth’s climate. OCO-2 will provide a new tool for understanding the human and natural sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the natural "sinks" that absorb carbon dioxide and help control its buildup. The observatory will measure the global geographic distribution of these sources and sinks and study their changes over time. To learn more about OCO-2, visit http://www.nasa.gov/oco2. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett